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I closed the space between us and wrapped my arms around his waist, underneath his coat. My body craved his warmth, his comfort. To know he wouldn’t draw away.
He didn’t.
I pushed myself onto tiptoe, so my lips weren’t far from his. “Hi.”
Wesley accepted my kiss. “Hi.”
“Something’s on your mind.”
He nodded and touched my hip. But instead of drawing me closer, he pushed me away. My brain scrambled, now on high alert. Wesley took off his jacket and scarf, hanging them up with slow, deliberate movements.
“What’s going on?”
Wesley swallowed. “Cara, we need to stop —” he gestured with his hand between the two of us “— this.”
I couldn’t hide my shocked hurt. His words cut straight through me. I had to school my expression and make a real effort to keep from crying.
“At least for a bit. I think we’ve become caught up in the excitement. And it’s been amazing, really, but —”
“What’s changed, Wesley?” I couldn’t hold back. I could not believe for a second he just came to this conclusion after giving me a gift like the one around my wrist.
Wesley looked away and his lips tightened. “My ex-wife.”
Just the mention of her made my thoughts spin out of control. Did she want him back? Were they giving their marriage a try again? Was he leaving me forher, this woman I knew had broken his heart, even if he didn’t speak about it outright with me yet?
“She’s getting married.”
Thank God.
“And she wants to come see Lucy. Introduce her fiancé to her. And I don’t want her getting wind of anything going on that might be untoward. Do you get what I’m saying?”
Suddenly, Wesley felt so distant. The look in his eyes was not of tenderness and affection, but one of business. His detached, no-nonsense demeanor oozed out of him. Serious. More sophisticated. More mature.
My boss.
This had been wrong from the beginning. But I let my romantic nature get the better of me. There was a reason I had resisted him as long as I had.
Because this was always a bad idea from the start.
And him wanting to hide it from his ex-wife was proof of that.
“I don’t want her to feel like she can change our custody agreement or think that somehow you’re endangering Lucy’s welfare by being involved with me while caring for her.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to restrain myself from screaming at him. Anger never solved anything. And though I wanted to let him know what I thought about myendangermentof Lucy, I had grown in our short time together. I was more levelheaded in business dealings.
And that’s what this was. Business.
Wesley took a step toward me and touched my hand softly. “Please understand —”
I pulled my hand back like his touch had burned me. “I do understand.” I forced myself to smile. “I understand completely.”
He frowned. “Cara —”
“It’s what’s best for Lucy. That’s all that matters to me. Let’s not…we don’t have to go around in circles about it.” I started to collect my coat and things. I would not be staying for dinner. That wasn’t a discussion we needed to have.
“But I need you to know that —”
“Wesley, it’s fine. This was a mistake, anyway.”
